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During Paul Coffey’s days as an NHLer, the legendary defenceman was known for flying down the ice and firing pucks in the net.

But as coach of his son’s Greater Toronto Hockey League team, the Hockey Hall of Famer got into hot water recently for flying off the handle and firing a “discriminatory slur.”

“People do and say crazy things at this time of year, it’s the playoffs,” GTHL President John Gardner said Wednesday, downplaying the incident.

“I think it has been blown out of proportion,” he added.

Gardner was unfamiliar with the details of the incident, so exactly what the Toronto Marlboros midget ‘AAA’ bench boss was accused of saying remains a mystery.

However, Coffey’s choice of words prompted the league to slap him with a three-game suspension under a new Hockey Canada rule protecting coaches, players and officials from discriminatory slurs.

Gardner confirmed the suspension stemmed from a heated exchange last Friday between Coffey and a Mississauga Senators coach in the waning minutes of the third game in their semifinal playoff series — a game the Marlboros went on to win 5-2.

“From what I understand, the two opposing coaches went at each other near the end of the game,” he said.

Gardner said the referee assessed Coffey a gross misconduct penalty, which sparked an automatic investigation by the league.

“Paul Coffey is a good coach who has done nothing wrong since being involved in this league,” Gardner said. “But let’s face it, hockey is an emotional game and people sometimes say things they don’t mean.”

Regardless, we must choose our words “carefully” these days, Gardner said, adding it’s important coaches set an example for their young players.

He said the incident illustrates that in the heat of the moment “anyone can lose their cool” — even a five-time Stanley Cup champ.

And the suspension sends a strong message that the GTHL has zero tolerance for discriminatory slurs, he said.

“Obviously there has to be punishment, regardless of who is involved,” Gardner said. “But in my opinion, I would say this was a minor incident.”

Coffey, a three-time Norris trophy winner and the NHL’s second all-time career scoring leader among defencemen, could not be reached Wednesday.

And Toronto Marlboros General Manager, Michael Chraba, said the club was not commenting on the suspension.

A spokesman for the Mississauga Senators also refused to talk.

However, thehockeynews.com reports an official from the opposing club actually asked the GTHL to go easy on Coffey because the infraction was relatively minor.